Fuyuoka
by Andrew Joshua Talon
Summary: Keitaro Urashima was always different, but we never knew how much... LHSupermanSmallville fusion IN PROGRESS
1. Chapter 1

****

March 17th, 1999

My mom told me that writing this down would help. It's still… Unbelievable. It's hard to even consider it.

But it's not like my parents could pull a prank like this. Not even Kanako-chan could, and she's an expert.

I guess I should start out, I dunno… From the beginning.

My name is Keitaro Urashima. I'm 20 years old. 19 years ago, I was adopted by my parents, Matsuo and Satsuki Urashima, after I was left at their front porch after the infamous January 5th Meteor Shower, when my little town of Fuyuoka, Japan, was bombarded by a swarm of strange, alien rocks.

My parents had been trying to have children for a long time, but unfortunately, my mother was barren. They were very Western-style, which was looked down on in our little town of mostly traditional Japanese. My parents considered me a gift from the stars above, and told me so.

When I was five years old, after making the promise to one day go to Tokyo University with a girl, my one true love (sort of), I was playing at the same park, the same sandbox. Some other kids were nearby. We started playing a game of catch with a ball, when an older child took it from Kanako-chan, my little adopted sister. She began to cry, and I tried to get it back, but the older child just laughed and held it away. He hit me, making me stumble. And I shoved him.

He literally sailed up and crashed into the branches of a sakura tree, and began to scream and sob.

From that point on, my parents kept me and Kanako under a very careful watch. The incident in the park was passed off as nothing more than a children's story.

But it was only the start of the bizarre path my life would take.

I could lift my parent's car up over my head before I was six. I actually amused my sister by tossing her up onto the roof of our two-story home while she held a pillow to land on. I could outrun motorcycles going at their full speed. I could hear and see things I shouldn't have been able to, like the heartbeats of my parents from a room away. And I never, ever once got sick, cut, bruised, or burned.

My parents forbade me from using these "gifts", they called them, in public or in view of anyone besides family. If anyone else found out, I would be taken away from them and we'd never see each other again. And I kept wondering, why, why, _why?_

Why can't I be normal?

Other boys don't get sick around the green meteor rocks. Other boys don't get hit by cars and not have a scratch on them. Other boys don't have to pretend that they're average and get average grades, when they can remember nearly everything they read, and do so at a college level when they're still in second grade.

I started to think my parents thought I was a freak. That they were ashamed of me.

And why wouldn't they be? Not only was I a freak, but a failure, and they wanted me to stay that way.

I hated having to dance with boys at the school events. I hated not being able to play sports. I hated being the school outcast.

I tried to kill myself, when I was 16. I went to an overlook, above the town, and jumped from fifty, maybe sixty meters above the ground.

I landed, face first. I wasn't even in pain from the fall. I looked down at my untouched hands and wept, because there was no escape for me. From being an embarrassment to my family.

From being me.

****

March 20th, 1999

Sorry about the delay, journal. Entry exams. Didn't go so hot. I'll talk about it later.

Continuing…

When I was 19, my parents found out about my second suicide attempt in time to keep me from a bus smashing into me, while I carried a piece of meteor rock. I was in agony from the pain of the rock, but I though that maybe, just maybe, it could weaken me enough that the bus would kill me.

My father shoved me out of the way just in time. He then smacked me, took the rock from me, threw it into a river and came back, furious. I began to sob angrily.

I asked him what was wrong with me. Why was I a freak? Why was I such an embarrassment to him and mom?

He took me aside and promised me that, no matter what I was, he was proud of me, because I was his son. And he took me home.

It was this night he told me the truth. Mom took me out to our little tool shed by the house. Dad got a crowbar, and went to a covered crate that had been kept in the corner of the little building for as long as I could remember. The lid came off noisily, the wood and nails that held it together coming apart.

I didn't notice the crate any more.

All my attention was on the strange, little craft in the crate, a mix of white, green and black. I think my jaw literally hit the floor.

"What, is that?" I asked hoarsely. My mother took a deep breath.

"When the meteors began to fall, Keitaro, we were driving from the store to home. One crashed right by the road and flipped the car over. We got out, and walked through the smoke and dust it kicked up, to see what had landed." She fell silent. My father coughed.

"We, uh… We found this, in the crater," he indicated the ship. "And, well, when we got close to it, the hatch opened and, well…"

"There you were," my mother whispered, smiling gently. "Crying and squirming a little. You were wrapped in some blankets…" She went over to the little ship and the hatch opened. She pulled out some blue and red sheets. I shook my head, backing away slightly.

"It's… This can't be… I'm… I'm not…"

"Son," sighed my father. "We love you. The only reason we have been so hard on you was because… Because we wanted you to have a normal life. Without the press or scientists or… or anything like that."

I shook my head. "I'm… I'm an alien." I sat down shakily on the floor, as my mother knelt next to me and hugged me.

"You're our son, Keitaro. And we love you." She sighed as my father came over, holding a strange little device of silver metal. He handed it to me.

"This, and a couple other things were in the ship," he shrugged. "I've been trying to figure out what any of them do… What the writing says, but they are literally like nothing else on Earth." I looked down at the device, the strange writing on it like nothing I'd ever seen before. I ran my hands over it, and sighed.

"So… What do we do now?"

****

March 21st, 1999

Weird stuff has been happening in Fuyuoka ever since the meteor shower. Lots of two-headed goats, babies born green-skinned, and what Kanako, my childhood friends Haitani Masyuki and Shirai Kimiaki began to refer to as 'The Freaks of the Week' club.

It ranged from salesmen with mind control powers, to resurrected demons, to bug people and fat sucking vampires.

And behind it all? The meteor rocks. To me, they just made me want to barf, as though they were wasting me away. The green ones, anyway. And, lucky me, they weren't the only flavors. Gold took away my powers, which, as you could imagine, was sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse. Good thing it was rare. The red variety made me… Well… Someone I never, ever want to be again. Black was just… Weird. Let's just say I got more in touch with my feminine side with that one.

Somehow, I got the impression that the rocks and I were connected. Maybe they were the last chunks of my homeworld that followed my ship to Earth. I don't know. All I know is that, along with making my life harder, they also made things harder for everyone else.

Secondary school is bad enough without killer zombies and pyrokinetic psychos on the loose. And don't get me started on studying for the Tokyo University entry exams in prep school.

I'd blame my failures to get into the most prestigious university in Japan on poor study habits, which is KIND OF true. Considering that my friends, or sister, or parents, kept getting into trouble with the latest Freak of the Week, I didn't have a lot of time to spare for hitting the books. Throwing them into the Pacific when I failed the test for the second time, yes, but not studying them.

Sometimes I wish I was just normal. Just another human, living my life without any huge secrets or abilities that could shape the future of the world.

And yet, I do realize that, without my powers, a lot of people would be dead, lost, or worse. And, well… X-Ray vision is a nice thing to have. Especially when your sister is REALLY hot…

Ack. Ack. Ack. Bad thoughts! Bad!

****

May 5th, 1999

Been a while since I wrote in here. I'm going to Hinata Springs, to work for my grandma at her hot springs hotel. My parents want me to go out and see the world. I wanted to keep trying for Toudai.

I have so much more potential than going to some disgustingly-preppy university, they say. That I was meant for far greater things than keeping a childhood promise. And they said they wouldn't give me anymore money towards Toudai.

And now, I'm going to try for a third time. And I keep asking myself, if my parents are right. If I am destined for greater things.

And, I guess I'm going to find out. On my own.

****

May 6th, 1999

These women are INSANE.

****

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

****

August 6th, 1999

Two months, I've been in this Hell, and only now do I have time to relate all that's happened.

I used to think that I was able to handle losing my temper. I thought I could keep it under wraps, as it were, and always be able to go vent someplace else when I needed to.

I came to my grandmother's inn with a hint of trepidation. She's never exactly been fond of me. Or Kanako, for that matter. It has something to do with our parents-I think that because my dad chose to leave Hinata rather than continue the family business of running the Hinata Sou, our ancestral home, and married a woman who wasn't of any of the "approved" families the Urashima clan traditionally married into, was what made my grandma consider them pariahs.

And because they couldn't have kids of their own, our presence just made things worse.

So it wasn't as much of a surprise as I thought It would be to learn that my grandma had deliberately left out the fact that she'd turned our ancestral home into a dormitory for insane girls.

I took a soak in the hot springs when I got there. Running all the way from Fuyuoka to Hinata Springs isn't exactly a walk in the park-Despite the fact that I can run fast enough that people can't see me, it was HOT. And my skin can stop bullets, not sweat.

I was just starting to relax when a nude girl with long red hair came in. I froze. She kind of sidled into the water and sighed happily. I was transfixed. I couldn't help it.

She was _hot_. I mean _really_ hot.

Then, she started groping me, saying that my breasts would one day be as big as hers. And then, she put on her glasses. She saw me clearly.

And she started screaming. "HELP! SOMEBODY! PERVERT! AIIIEEE!"

And, as you can imagine, I got the hell out of there!

My super speed nearly got a blonde girl with REALLY nice, er… Assets, killed. And then, I crashed through a laundry basket that this little blonde, dark-skinned girl was carrying. Which was filled with women's underwear.

Finally, I got to the roof, looking around frantically. From some of the stuff my biological parents had left me, I would one day be able to fly. But so far, I've never been able to do it. Well, unless you count floating above my bed in my sleep.

And that was when this beautiful girl with long, raven black hair, swinging a sword came rushing at me. I sidestepped instinctively, barely dodging the blow. Then the blonde foreign girl attacked with a kick, which I barely dodged again. If I used my super speed here, it'd raise too many questions.

Finally, I decided to get the hell out of here the easy way, when the red-headed girl (somehow, she'd gotten dressed in her sweater, a skirt, stockings and shoes in the few seconds I'd needed to get to the roof) punched me. If I hadn't jumped away with all my strength at the moment of contact, (which sent me flying high above the roof and crashing into the pavement below) she'd have shattered her hand.

They surrounded me on the ground, as I tried to get up. They were going to call the police. I felt a surge of panic-If they got me, they'd start asking about the crater in the pavement, and why I wasn't hurt, and then…

"Leave him alone!"

"Aunt Haruka!" I rushed over to her and hugged her. The wheeze from her mouth told me I'd used too much of my strength, so I quickly loosened the grip.

Anyway, it turned out that Granny Hina had made me the de-facto owner and manager of the Hinata. Aunt Haruka had tried to get me into the dorm by having me lie that I was a Toudai student, but I managed to keep to the truth.

I'm a terrible liar anyway. I'm amazed I've kept my secret this long.

The girls punished me by basically turning me into their slave and whipping boy. The fact that I managed to survive all their attacks without serious harm fascinated Suu, the little blonde foreign girl, who began to set loose giant robotic turtles to test me. I usually used my heat vision to make them suffer an internal meltdown, or lured the beast out of sight and smashed it with my whole body.

Leaving imprints of my hands or fists on the metal of the robots is not something I want to explain.

Naru, the red-head; well, she was a real piece of work. Calling me stupid and perverted and worthless, she refused to help me study for Toudai, and whenever I'm around I'm her personal punching bag. I try to avoid her now, as much as possible, because if I lose my temper around her, she's going to be seriously hurt. I do this by jumping myself out of the Hinata when she punches me. I can jump REALLY far when I need to. And I spend the time it takes getting back to the Hinata trying to get a handle on my temper.

Motoko, the sword-wielding girl, is my second least favorite person at the Hinata. She keeps calling me a dishonorable pervert and attacking me with her unique wind-bending powers. I keep thinking that, maybe if I stood up to her with a little of my strength, the samurai in her would back down and leave me alone.

But I won't stoop to her level. I won't abuse my powers just to knock someone around.

Kitsune is, well… A drunk and a party girl. She keeps trying to seduce me, apparently, but in reality she blackmails me by threatening to tell Motoko and Naru that I've been molesting her. It doesn't help that she is REALLY hot, and I have a bad habit of switching to X-ray vision to check out her goods. Sure beats porn. Unfortunately, I haven't yet figured out how to make her stop-Short of using my powers, and I don't want her to blackmail me about those.

My Aunt Haruka and I… Well… We never really got along very well. She keeps hitting me when I call her my aunt, which is what she is. I think she's insecure about her age, which I find funny-She's absolutely gorgeous. And she's only 28! What's she got to complain about? For all I know, I could be hundreds of years old.

The Hinata itself seems to try to make me miserable. It's almost like things move around in here when you're not looking. I trip and fall, and I end up with a hand on a breast or leg, and kapow!

Being an alien with superpowers and not being able to do anything about being abused by a bunch of psychotic women sucks.

Which brings us up to my most recent adventure.

I was just finishing up trashing another one of the Mecha-Tama robots, throwing it into a river from a bridge to make sure it wasn't found (the heat vision wasn't working-Suu's made some improvements), when a silver sports car came racing around the bend. It's tire exploded, as the sleek vehicle went out of control and barreled right for me. The driver's eyes were wide, as were mine, as the collision occurred. I smacked against the hood of the car, which felt like I was simply being pushed, and not hit by a few hundred kilogram vehicle moving at 100 kilometers an hour.

We fell into the river below. I shook my head slightly, noting that the impact hadn't even made me dizzy. I looked down and saw that the sports car was now sunk in the bottom.

Without a moment's hesitation, I switched into super speed mode and was at the side of the car in half the time it takes to blink. I punched through the glass, before yanking the door clear off and tossing it aside. I then grabbed the passenger and swam for the surface.

I tossed him up onto the shore and clambered after him. I checked for a pulse, grimaced, and began CPR.

"C'mon man… Don't die on me!" I muttered between breaths, pumping his chest. Finally, when I was starting to give up hope, he coughed and gasped loudly, looking around dazedly.

"Hey… You're going to be okay…" I said with a grin. The man blinked at me, his gaze piercing and incredulous.

"I could have sworn I hit you…" I shrugged.

"Almost did," I replied, coughing a little. He shook his head and tried to get up.

"Hey, relax, I've got you," I soothed, helping the blonde man up to his feet. The paramedics finally got there. After checking us both for injuries, the blond man finally held out his hand to me with a smile.

"Kentaro Sakata," he introduced himself. I blinked awkwardly.

"Ah… Keitaro Urashima. It's nice to meet you," I replied, shaking his hand. I'd done it now. Saved the life of a boy billionaire. So much for privacy…

"Believe me, Keitaro, I must thank you for saving my life," Kentaro continued, smiling brightly. I shrugged.

"I'm sure you would have done the same for me," I said modestly. _Except that, if I'd been driving that car, and you were on the bridge, you'd be dead and I'd have to live with that fact._

"Anyway, if there's ever anything I can do for you, Keitaro, just call me," the blond man said suavely, handing me a business card. I took it, a bit shaky, as a limo pulled up. He smiled again.

"Er, sure," I said. He nodded again, and frowned.

"Would you like a ride back home? You seemed like you were… Out, I don't know, thinking." I was taken aback. This guy was REALLY observant.

"You're pretty observant, even when your car's careening out of control," I noted, smiling slightly. He laughed.

"You seem like a great guy, Keitaro. I would like it very much if we could get to know one another better." I think at that moment, I was wondering if my race evolved from fish, because I sure looked like one at that moment. A boy billionaire, who could have anything or anyone he wanted, was asking me to be his friend?

"Um… Sure. It's no problem." I smiled back. Though I was a little weirded out, to be honest, I didn't have any friends here in Hinata. Sure? Why not?

****

August 8th, 1999

The things being a friend with a billionaire can do for your reputation. Kitsune was gushing about how awesome I was, how much power I could have, and wouldn't I like to see her underwear collection?

Naru was grudgingly impressed by my feat of heroism. Haruka just grunted. Suu wanted to take Kentaro's car apart in order to put it back together again, this time with a fusion reactor. And Motoko went off on a tangent about "filthy males sticking together".

Kentaro showed up at the Hinata, smiling his charming way. I smiled back, and shook his hand. I told him about my job, a little of my family history, and showed him around. He felt I was lucky, shacking up with three beautiful women, my foxy aunt, and a cute foreign schoolgirl.

When he saw Motoko blast me through a window, followed by one of Suu's flying robot turtles attacking me from the air, then Naru punch me into a tree, he abruptly changed his mind.

"This is insane, Keitaro," Kentaro said, helping me up from the shattered remains of the trunk. "They're trying to kill you!"

"I'm all right," I shrugged. "I'm pretty tough."

"Yes… I saw," Kentaro noted, looking at me with a small smile. I blinked.

"Um… Yes?"

"Keitaro… You can tell me the truth."

"We just met," I pointed out, looking worriedly up at the Hinata. I had a lot of chores to do, and if I didn't get to work…

"Keitaro… You told the police, and me, that I crashed through the bridge, barely missing you, you jumped in after me, and got me out," Kentaro continued. I stayed silent.

"But that isn't what happened, is it?" The blond billionaire asked quietly. I swallowed.

"Please Keitaro… Don't lie to me, okay? I want to be your friend. Really. If you tell me no one else will know," Kentaro continued, looking sincere. Using my super-hearing, I could tell that he was telling the truth. No change in pulse or blood pressure.

I hesitated.

"… Yes. You hit me. And I survived."

"Without a scratch. Like now," Kentaro concluded. I nodded.

"Kentaro… I just want to keep to myself. I don't want to become famous, or use this ability of mine for my own gain… I just want to be a normal person." Kentaro nodded, smiling.

"I know the feeling. All the wealth, the power? Truthfully, it'd be nice to not have to wear Armani everyday, or decide the fate of thousands of people's employ in a meeting or… Anything like that." Kentaro shrugged. "I was just curious, Keitaro. Relax. I'm not going to expose you… I just wanted to know." I blinked at him.

"Why?" He smiled.

"Curiosity… I love to learn, to research, to study. To see the unknown, essentially. So, how long have you been this way?" I shrugged.

"Since I was… Born, I guess," I answered truthfully. He frowned.

"Do you know why?" I shrugged.

"Not really…" Which was also true. I mean, I didn't specifically _know_ why I had these powers. I knew it had to do with me being an alien, but as to why I had them, I hadn't a clue. Kentaro nodded, looking intrigued.

"Believe me, Keitaro… You saved my life, and gave me a second chance. I'd never try to exploit you for what you are. And besides… Considering that girl can punch you that hard, that the samurai girl can blast you with wind, and that Suu builds robot turtles just for fun? You're practically normal." Kentaro smiled and nodded again.

"I would like to know more about your abilities in the future, if that's okay?" I sighed.

"Look, Kentaro: They work. I think it's good enough for me." Kentaro nodded respectfully.

"Then I won't push you. Just know that, well… I'm willing to help you if you need it." He smiled. "And I'd like to invite you to the mansion tomorrow." I blinked.

"Uh… Sure… Why?"

"Because I want to hang out with you, Keitaro. Nothing more." He smiled again. "And besides… Getting out of this place is probably something you need, huh?" I nodded vigorously and grinned.

"Definitely…" Kentaro shook his head.

"Honestly… I used to have a crush on that Naru girl? We went to the same school together…"

"But?" I prompted. He shrugged.

"She was always hung up on this tutor of his. Never even noticed me." I frowned sympathetically.

"Harsh."

"Indeed." He smiled. "Well Keitaro… Thanks for being honest with me. I'll see you later."

"See ya," I replied, smiling and waving, as the blond billionaire headed back to the Aston Martin Vanquish parked out front. I think I drooled over how awesome that car was. And how that the owner wanted to be my friend, and didn't think I was a total freak.

Maybe things are looking up!

"BAKA! GET IN HERE AND FINISH MOPPING!"

I groaned. On the other hand…

****

August 20th, 1999

Kentaro's been a good friend for me. We've begun talking every week. He generally shows up at the Hinata, rather than making a phone call. I think it's because he's always on the phone for his work, which can get pretty tiring I imagine.

We generally just meet, play pool or video games, read books, that kind of thing. Kentaro's really smart. It's kind of sad that the only way he was taught to show gratitude was through grand gestures. I managed to help him understand I didn't want to be his friend for money, but because he seems like a great guy.

He's taken Naru out on a few dates-Usually as surprises. He's offered to help me in my girl problems, but to be honest, I'm not really interested in that now.

And now, someone else knows my secret. Well, the secret of all that I can do. And then, I had to come completely clean with her.

It all started when I was out getting groceries. A little girl with blue hair was sitting on a bench, a suitcase in her hand. She looked miserable. I couldn't just stand there…

"Hey… You okay?" I asked, sitting next to her. She sighed sadly, and I felt the urge to hug her.

"My parents are getting a divorce… Because of me… Because of what I'm doing to them." She looked near tears. "I… I don't want to hurt them anymore! So, I'm leaving. For good." She indicated the suitcase. I nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Shinobu Maehara," she mumbled. I nodded again.

"I'm Keitaro, Shinobu. And, well… I know how you feel." She blinked at me in disbelief.

"How?"

"I've caused a lot of problems for my family. Once, I wrecked our car. It was completely destroyed. I was so scared about what my parents would do to me about it. And they started fighting about it, which made me scared I'd hurt them." Shinobu gaped.

"What happened?" I shrugged.

"I… Tried to run away. My mom and dad, however, managed to find me." My shoulders sagged. I really didn't like remembering that day.

"And…?"

"They forgave me… it was an accident. I didn't mean to cause any problems." I looked over at her and smiled.

"Whatever their reasons… Your parents wouldn't split up just because of you. And I think we both know this." Shinobu shrugged, looking away.

"I… I guess," she murmured. I patted her shoulder.

"In any event… Running away isn't going to help, right?"

"I… I don't know," she mumbled, blushing. She reached into her bag and pulled out a necklace.

A green necklace, that began to glow. I felt ill.

"My mom gave me this… After I was born. It's from the meteor rocks that hit Fuyuoka. I was born on the day they came down... Well, the sixth anniversary, I mean…" She smiled fondly at the memory, while I felt like my insides were on fire.

"That's, uh, nice," I gasped out. Shinobu looked at me, concerned.

"Keitaro-san, are you all right?"

I was about to answer, before a gigantic metal flipper sideswiped me into a tree. I groaned as Shinobu screamed, as another of Suu's gigantic Mecha Tamas scuttled into view.

__

Why can't she make the robots look like anything other than turtles? I asked myself, as I got up to my feet. The robot lunged for me, as I sidestepped and rolled away. I then felt the pain of the kryptonite again, and grimaced. Shinobu had run over to me, the necklace still in her hands. She grabbed my arm and tried to lead me away.

"We have to get out of here!" She cried, as the Tama closed in. Grimacing, I grabbed the necklace, crying out a little at the pain that act caused, before throwing it as far as I could. I got up and breathed deeply as the pain from the kryptonite faded.

"Keitaro-san… Why did you do that… Was the necklace hurting you?" Shinobu asked, amazed. I grit my teeth and looked around. Nobody but Shinobu was in sight…

"Hold on," I said, grabbing her around the waist and switching to super speed. She cried out in shock, as I set her down by the bench we'd sat on and ran back. I delivered a kick to the Mecha Tama's head, smashing it's sensors, before grabbing it by the shoulder and slamming it into the ground. I lifted it up over my head before throwing it into a nearby lake, where it crashed with a terrific splash. I looked over at Shinobu, who was staring at me in disbelief.

"Ah… I can explain…" I began nervously…

****

August 21st, 1999

I am so screwed.

****

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

August 22nd, 1999

Shinobu managed to get me to vouch to her parents about her staying at the Hinata, in exchange for doing the housekeeping and cooking. She didn't blackmail me or anything-She just asked, and well… She's a sweet girl. I could tell that right away.

And it was nice to have someone I could talk to about my powers, and origins.

The rest of the girls were of differing opinions about her: Naru and Motoko, of course, thought that I was hiring her on in order to seduce her, like the shameless pedophile I was. Kitsune teased me about wanting a little sister. Haruka just shrugged and harrumphed. Suu was delighted though, and she and Shinobu quickly became fast friends.

I made it absolutely clear to Shinobu, however, that my secret was not one for the lighthearted. It was a dangerous secret, one that might put her in danger. I will always remember though, this fierce determination that lit up in her eyes, determination that I wouldn't have expected from a girl so young.

"Don't worry, Sempai… I will not fail you. I promise."

Considering my relationship to promises in general, this touched me.

Anyway, things stayed pretty much to a standard routine-I got punched, kicked, blasted and/or otherwise attacked by the other girls, Kitsune tried to seduce me for booze money, Kentaro and I hung out and did some cool stuff together, I fought a couple of fledgling super villains, and Shinobu, through it all, was my confidante.

And things seemed pretty normal… For me, and here, anyway.

Until that day…

**Excerpt from Koalla Suu, Princess of Mol-Mol's, super-secret diary! (No peeking!)**

**August 24th, 1999** **Happy Birthday!**

Hi diary! Suu here!

Just thought you should know that Suu now has an alien living with her! A very fun and cute alien!

His name is Keitaro! Well, that's his Earth name, anyway. His alien name is Kal-El. I took one of Keitaro's weird paperweights that he keeps around, and tried to open it! But, I learned that it only opens when Keitaro touches it! His DNA triggers it! But, it hadn't until now. It was because Suu found that the device needed a power boost! I gave it one from my fusion reactor! It was funny how Keitaro screamed that I was… What did he say again? "Absolutely insane?" (Can you eat absolutely insane?? Suu does not know!)

But anyway! The box finally opened when Keitaro grabbed it! A funny symbol appeared on it-It looked like some weirdly-stretched pentagram with a coiled snake in it. It glowed and then everything changed!

A hologram I guess, but it all looked real! Way beyond even my nation's technology! I wonder if Keitaro will let Suu try to copy the technology? It would make Suu rich!

Anyway, two people dressed funny, with that weird pentagram-snake symbol on their chests, appeared, and everywhere around us looked like some strange, alien world!

I was confused. The man and woman who appeared looked like Keitaro. They said they were Keitaro's real parents, and that this box was their gift to him, to teach him about his origins and how he came to Earth. But then, that means Keitaro's an alien! No wonder he never gets hurt when I play with him!

I kind of zoned out for a while as Keitaro and the holograms of his parents talked. I tried to find a banana but the hologram obscured them all! I was feeling sad about that. TT

Finally, the hologram vanished, and Keitaro looked sad. I tried to cheer him up with a banana. He took it and asked me not to tell anyone else that he was an alien. Suu said, "Are you kidding? I'd never tell! It's too cool for Suu to blab!"

Now, Suu and Keitaro do experiments together! To find out about all his powers and more about his home! He can do lots of neat stuff! Like, run faster than a bullet, lift 100 tons, survive a nuclear explosion (that was lots of fun to do, but Keitaro wasn't happy about it), and can set things on fire by looking at them! He's like a giant banana sundae! All these neat, yummy things about him!

Keitaro's Journal

August 26th, 1999

Oh God, somebody kill me now.

Ever since Suu started her "experiments", I haven't been getting a lot of rest lately. She locked me into a super-reinforced lead chamber and detonated a 1 kiloton nuke! Right in my face! It actually burned… Though truthfully, it was like getting a sunburn for me.

Suu has been helpful, though, in helping me learn more about Krypton, the planet I came from, and my parents, Jor-El and Lara. The recordings of my father and mother though, aren't complete. The holograms answered a lot of my questions-What was Krypton like, what happened to it-but when I asked why I was sent here, specifically, all I get is this:

The hologram of my mother tells me she loves me and will always be with me, while my father tells me that on Earth I will be a God among men, and to rule over this flawed race humanity with strength and might.

Every time I ask that question, or a variation of it, that's all I get.

I keep learning more about Krypton whenever I touch the box. It's a long, violent history, the various nations on my birth planet warring with each other for millennia, with steadily deadlier weapons. My father used to be of a great house, the House of El (the crest of which is on the box the hologram comes out of). But the House of El fell into decline, gradually changing from great warriors and statesmen to scientists and fringe philosophers.

It was little wonder, then, that no one on Krypton listened to my father's warnings that the planetary power system, that had kept Krypton's cities running for thousands of years, would soon lead to the planet's complete destruction. I mean, the power system induced fusion within the core of the planet to create energy, which just sounds stupid to begin with. But no one listened. He was thought of as a loony and a renegade.

Originally, he planned to build a ship that would take him, Lara, and me to Earth… But he ran out of time. The ship he could finish was only big enough for me. And with a last kiss from my mother on my forehead, I was launched into space. It was then that Krypton exploded, and my little ship barely escaped, headed for a small, blue planet orbiting a young, yellow star.

Along with the hologram, the box opened to reveal a companion my parents had included for me… A small, green-shelled, Kryptonian hot springs turtle. I named her Tama-chan. And I must admit, seeing Suu break a tooth trying to bite the super turtle's shell was _hilarious._

Well, that's all for now, journal. Tama-chan's learned how to use heat vision. I'll be back!

September 1st, 1999

Been a while, huh? Well, a lot's happened.

To make a long story short, I once again failed the Tokyo University entry exams (no big surprise there), and went on a little trip to Osaka, then Okinawa to try and find myself.

Along the way, I met Mutsumi Otohime, this really, really _hot_ girl, who has also failed the entrance exams to Toudai three times.

Interestingly, Naru also failed. And she's the top student in the nation! Or at least, she _was…_

Anyway, our journey was filled with adventure and mayhem. I managed to take down Godzilla (who was invading at the time), by lifting him and running him out to sea. When he wouldn't just _leave,_ I broke his big toe. He started bawling like a big baby and ran off.

I barely avoided getting spotted… But it was either remain hidden, or let the giant lizard destroy Tokyo… Again.

And Naru's still upset with me for kissing Mutsumi. Well, technically, she kissed me… And then she kissed Naru. That was… Sooo cool.

Mutsumi's going away present was a guide to hot springs turtles… Since Tama-chan followed me. It's difficult to evade a smart turtle with all your alien abilities. But it's starting to make me wonder if Kryptonians have been here, on Earth, before.

Anyway, now that I'm back? I have to get another job.

I wouldn't _have_ to if certain people here didn't destroy property when they're attacking me! Or stole my money to finance their alcohol binges! Or actually _paid_ their rent!

But, (sigh) that's life. At least, that's mine.

I was tempted to get a job as a construction worker… But I'd rather no one see my strength. Kentaro offered to help out the Hinata financially, but I politely declined. He's my friend, and that's payment enough, I told him. Naru and Kitsune hit me for that, though. They say I'm an idiot when it comes to economics.

Least I'm not an idiot at friendships though…

I got a job with this archaeologist, Dr. Seta Noriyasu… Who also happens to be Haruka's former boyfriend. Awkwardness much? Oh yeah, and his adopted daughter, Sarah, is a _brat._ With a capital "B". I'm never taking my invulnerability for granted _again._ She literally dropped a piano on my head!

The fact I survived with no injuries (or even scratches) was something that confused her. Fortunately, I was able to use that hesitation of hers to gag her with duct tape and throw her in the back of Seta's van.

She got me back, however, when I was working with Seta in his office at the University, cataloguing artifacts he'd found on an expedition to an island. Apparently they're the remains of a once great turtle civilization.

What I find really interesting about the artifacts, however, is that they have Kryptonian writing on them. Could the Kryptonians have visited Earth before I came here?

Who knows? Maybe, hiding in the ruins of those ancient turtle civilizations, might be another survivor. Another one like me. Or, at least, some more information on the Kryptonians. My father's hologram seems to imply that I'm here to conquer Earth, to establish a rule over the flawed human race. I'm not sure though… My translation might be wrong. It's just that… My father seemed so cold, so hard, in the hologram, while my mother seemed loving and warm by contrast.

I lost my train of thought, however, when a familiar burning sensation in my body emerged. I coughed and shuddered, and looked to my right. Sarah, who had been sitting with me at the cataloguing table, was playing with a glowing green pendant. _Kryptonite…_

"Hey dork… What's wrong?" The blonde girl asked, smirking. "You feeling sick?" She held the pendant closer to me. I paled and began to feel nauseous.

"Hey… Wait…" She pulled the pendant back and stuffed it into a thick metal container nearby. My color returned and I felt better. I sighed in relief… Before Sarah brought the kryptonite out again. I felt ill all over.

She kept taking it out and putting it back in, like a demented version of peek-a-boo. She giggled at how easily she could make me suffer.

"Please… Sarah… Stop…" I croaked, slumping to the floor. She giggled again.

"Nuh uh… This is great! I've got you _completely_ under my power," She cackled. I croaked and tried to get Seta's attention, but I couldn't speak. He was in the other room, too far away. I collapsed, shivering. All I could hear was Sarah's manic giggles as I began to pass out…

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

From this point onward, Fuyuoka's format will be normal story-form. Enjoy!

"Sarah, what are you doing?" Seta emerged into the sideroom of his office, to see his adopted daughter giggling over his new part-time worker, who looked green and positively ill.

"Daddy Daddy! He gets sick when I hold the green rock near him! Look!" Sarah pushed the pendant into Keitaro's face, the skin closest to contact beginning to distort into ugly, sick green veins. Keitaro moaned in pain.

"Sarah, stop it! You're hurting him!" Seta grabbed Sarah and pulled her away, before taking the pendant into his hand and tossing it away. Keitaro began breathing normally, though he still looked pale. The archaeologist frowned and stared at somewhere to Keitaro's right.

"Uh… Thanks, Dr. Noriyasu… It was-Hey!" Seta had grabbed another pendant hanging off Keitaro's neck, and examined it closely. His eyes widened behind his glasses, as he stared hard at Keitaro.

"Part-timer… Where did you get this?" Seta turned the shield-shaped pendant around, showing the S-shaped symbol emblazoned on it. Keitaro gulped.

"Uh… It was… A gift from my mother…"

"Why does it have Turtlese written on it?" Seta pressed. Keitaro shrugged, beginning to sweat nervously.

"Uh… I'm not sure… I mean, she got it at this, uh, garage sale and-"

"You're lying, part-timer," Seta said, his face growing dark. "Tell me the truth… Now."

"Yeah! Don't you dare lie to Daddy!" Sarah piped up, holding the green kryptonite necklace up, and once again Keitaro groaned in pain as the small meteor rocks did their terrible magic to him.

"Hmmm…" Seta rubbed his chin thoughtfully, before turning away. "Sarah, keep him here. Keep using the necklace." Keitaro looked up in disbelief.

"Dr… Seta? What are you… Doing?" The archaeologist ignored Keitaro, rummaging around in some boxes, before producing a small cube with intricate designs carved into it. He walked back, knelt next to Keitaro, took his hand, and placed it over the cube. It began to glow bright blue, as the carvings began to move. Seta smiled in triumph, as Keitaro watched in growing horror.

"Yes… Yes… It all makes sense now," Seta whispered, grinning eerily. "It was said that the ancestors of the Turtlese Civilization were not of this Earth… And that only one of their direct descendants could make sense of their remains. It also says, that only a member of the first race of the Turtlese can bring any of their artifacts to life…" Keitaro gasped, as Sarah shoved the necklace at him threateningly.

"He's an alien, daddy?" Seta nodded.

"An alien… The last of his kind, I'm guessing." Seta grinned. "And you've been hiding out here on Earth for, what… Thousands of years?"

"No… No, it's not… Like that," Keitaro gasped, wincing at the kryptonite's proximity. Seta scratched his chin.

"No, no… The texts themselves say that the first ones weren't immortal… Isn't it interesting, Sarah? That the world our part-timer came from seems to not be where the ancient texts describe it being?" Seta smiled, nodding. "Of course… They sent you here. Where they'd been before…" Seta grinned.

"Part-Timer… You're going to make me the most famous scientist in human history." Keitaro shook his head violently, gasping for breath.

"No… No, please! I… I don't want to be famous! I just want to be normal! Please!"

"You're not normal, Urashima," Seta said gravely. "You never were. You should just give up trying, Keitaro. Trying to be something you're not, and never will be."

"That's… Not true! I'm human!" Keitaro insisted. Seta laughed, shaking his head.

"No, you're not, Urashima… The sooner you figure that out, the better you'll be off."

"Daddy! Can I keep him?" Sarah asked hopefully. "My own pet alien dork!"

"Maybe later, Sarah," Seta said, humoring her. "At the moment, we need him for something more important." The archaeologist looked intently at Keitaro.

"You see, Keitaro, there are the ruins of a Turtlese settlement underneath the mountains near your inn. The carvings on it don't make any sense… But, if _you_ were to activate them-"

"I'm not doing it!" Keitaro bit out. "I'm not going to help you!"

"Then I'll tell everyone your secret, Keitaro… And then you'll have to help me anyway," Seta said calmly. Keitaro's eyes widened.

"Why… Why are you doing this?" Seta smiled darkly.

"For years, I've been thought of as a nutcase, for my Turtlese civilization theories. I've sacrificed everything-My family, my home, my girlfriends-In order to prove I'm right. In order to vindicate myself. And finally, I have the chance to do so." Seta looked down at Keitaro, hard.

"And you would deny me the chance to realize my life's work?"

Keitaro glared back.

"I… Am NOT… Going to use my origins for your gain!"

"Yes, you will," Seta said quietly. "You have no choice. You are mine to do with as I please." Keitaro gaped at him.

"You're… You're insane!"

"No… I'm merely determined," Seta replied evenly. "Now, Sarah? Let's get going." Seta hefted Keitaro to his feet, who was trying to struggle away. However, with the kryptonite's influence on him, his normally incredible powers were now dormant. The archaeologist dragged him out, while his daughter followed, giggling as she continued to wave the deadly rock after Keitaro.

Outside the window, a little turtle flew off, faster than lightening, for her home in the hills…

* * *

"Myuh! Myuh myuuuuh myuuuh!" Tama-chan cried as she flew into the Hinata's living room. Motoko shrieked and dove under a table, shivering as the turtle continued to fly about, myuhing frantically.

"ACK! T-T-Turtle! Get it away! Get it away! Get it away!" Motoko cried. Kitsune rolled her eyes as the turtle flapped it's flippers wildly.

"What's Tama-chan's problem?" Asked Naru, as she came into the room. She frowned as her joint-pet with Keitaro (well, Tama-chan seemed to like her, so that's how she thought of the strange flying turtle) began myuhing frantically in her face, waving her fins.

"I… I can't understand you, Tama-chan," Naru said uncertainly. "What's-HEY!" Tama-chan had flown behind Naru, lifted her over her little yellow head, and began flying off through the window.

"HELP! HELP! TAMA-CHAN, PUT ME DOWN!" Naru screamed. Kitsune, Shinobu, Suu, and Motoko all watched through the window as Tama-chan vanished with her unwilling passenger over the treetops.

"That… Is one strong turtle," Kitsune noted. "How the devil did it do that?"

"Because Tama-chan is an alien turtle! Just like Kei-Mmph!" Suu's outburst was cut short by Shinobu covering the foreigner's mouth. Kitsune and Motoko looked at Shinobu oddly. She blushed.

"Ah… Suu! How dare you say naughty things in your native tongue! Really!" Shinobu smiled nervously. "Ah, but why don't we go after Tama! We need to rescue Naru-sempai, after all!"

"Agreed, from that fiendish turtle demon!" Motoko declared. She then glowered. "Where the devil is that weakling Urashima? It's his pet… He should be responsible for it!"

"Tama-chan is not an it, she's a she!" Shinobu protested. "But that's not important! C'mon! Let's go!"

"Allright! Time for the Hinata Rescue Team to go into action!" Kitsune declared dramatically, suddenly dressed like a desert commando. Motoko, Suu, and Shinobu found themselves in similar garb.

"Huh?"

"Um, Kitsune? Why are we dressed like this?" Motoko asked. Kitsune cocked her heavy assault rifle.

"It's not important, soldier! Off we go!"

* * *

"Look, if this is about those sunflower seeds I fed you, I'm sorry! I didn't know they had been sitting on a shelf for ten years! Please, Tama-chan!" Naru pleaded with the turtle, who continued flying her over the forest and towards the mountains. The redhead sighed and held her forehead. Why did everything happen to her?

Tama-chan abruptly shifted position, flying backwards as she pulled Naru along with her. Naru gasped and twisted her head to look over her shoulder. They were headed for a sheer rock face, that had no obvious entrances. Naru paled.

"Tama-chan… TAMA-CHAN! PULL UP! We're going to crash! TAMA-CHAN!"

FITZZZZZ!

Naru opened her eyes. She was expecting to be dead about now, but apparently she was now alive. How had-

She watched a long tunnel of rapidly cooling rock pass over her. She gaped, and looked over her shoulder again.

Tama-chan's eyes were producing some kind of strange beams, that vaporized the rock before them and quickly cooled as the super-turtle and the redhead passed through. Naru felt like passing out.

"Tama… Chan? What… Are you?" She murmured in shock. Tama only myuh'd in response, as they finally reached an underground tunnel not of their making. Tama-chan gently set the shaken Naru down on the dirt floor of the tunnel, where the girl collapsed, breathing heavily. Tama-chan hovered nearby.

"Myuh?"

"Tama… What… Are you?" Naru murmured again. Tama-chan nuzzled her nose comfortingly.

"Myuh! Myuh myuh myuh!" Tama-chan turned and slowly flew down the tunnel, her small eyes glowing softly to produce light. Naru, not sure what choice she had, followed the flying turtle.

They went on in silence for a while, before Tama myuh'd happily and turned back, beckoning Naru forward. Cautiously, the red head walked into a massive chamber.

And her jaw met the floor.

"Holy…"

The chamber walls ascended in every direction around her, all covered in millions upon millions of strange hieroglyphics and lines. They were all seemingly connected, a great tapestry of carved stone lines. At the center of the chamber was a short obelisk that seemed to glow with a faint blue inner light. Naru felt faint.

"Wow…"

"Yes, it is impressive, isn't it?" Naru started and turned. She gasped.

"S-Seta?" Her old tutor/crush was indeed standing before her, smiling in his old, slightly vacant way, a lit cigarette at the corner of his mouth. At his side was-

"Keitaro? What are you doing here?" Naru felt a bit irritated that Keitaro had gotten to see Seta before her… But then she noticed how sickly the manager of her dorm looked. He was being held up by the scruff of his neck in the firm hand of Seta. A little blonde girl, who was grinning, was poking him with a strange, green pendant that was glowing.

"What… What happened to him? Why is he with you?" Naru asked, feeling concerned. Seta's smile seemed off. He dragged Keitaro along, past Naru.

"Wait! Seta! What-What are you doing?" Seta let Keitaro drop on the ground at the foot of the obelisk, where he moaned painfully. Naru had heard Keitaro groan and sigh a lot-He was a whiner and a total loser-But never with such despair and agony behind his voice.

"It's simple, Naru. You, me, my adopted daughter, and your pet turtle? We are all about to become famous. We are all about to witness a wonder of the ages, something that will be remembered for a thousand years to come." Seta grinned and pulled Keitaro back up to his feet.

"Sarah, douse the pendant for a moment, please." The blonde girl shoved the pendant into a little metal box. The moment it closed, Keitaro's skin began to gain it's color back. He began to stand on his own two feet, though he still looked very weak. Naru walked over to his side and put a hand tentatively on his shoulder.

"Keitaro? Are you… Are you allright?"

"It's the rock, Naru," Seta said flatly. "One of the last bits of his homeworld that followed him to Earth." Naru gaped at Seta, and shifted her gaze, back to Keitaro, and back to her old crush.

"What… What do you mean? He's… This loser pervert's some kind of… Alien?" Keitaro grimaced and stood up fully. He looked Naru in the eyes with a frightening determination. Naru took a step back, never seeing this emotion from the ronin's eyes before.

"Yes, Naru. I am. And if I don't reveal the secret of this place to Seta… He's going to kill me," Keitaro sighed. Naru shook her head, incredulous.

"You're… You're joking! This is a joke! Seta would _never_ kill anyone!"

"Actually, I would," Seta remarked cheerfully. "I have. In order to get what I want. Of course… If Keitaro is dead, he can't unlock the secret of this chamber, now can he?" Naru shook her head again, aghast. She was beginning to feel ill. _No…_

"You… But I…"

"I know it's a lot to take in, Naru, but we have a job to do. Now, Keitaro. Since we _are_ cut off from the sun-Which I presume is the source of your powers-you're not much of a threat right now, are you?" Keitaro glared at him.

"Guess Haruka was right about you-The only thing that matters to you is yourself and your damn research." Seta smirked.

"She always did get me the best. Now, Keitaro, if you don't mind-WOAH!" Seta barely dodged a heat vision blast from Tama. She myuhed in rage as she dove to protect her friends, knocking the archaeologist away. Sarah gasped and pulled out the kryptonite, at which both Tama and Keitaro began to fail again. Naru tried to hold Keitaro up as he slumped again. Seta readjusted his glasses and walked over to the fallen Tama-chan. She was myuhing quietly.

"Ah… A little pet from your homeworld?" Seta picked Tama-chan up and shoved her into his pocket. "I'll just hang onto her for now. So, Keitaro… Are we going to do this or what?" Keitaro glared weakly at Seta, before reaching a hand out to the obelisk. The moment it touched the artifact, the obelisk began to glow brightly. A startled gasp from Naru heralded bright blue lines of energy that lanced out from the obelisk, through the lines and carvings and lighting up every single hieroglyph. The chamber was awash in bright blue light, as the countless symbols began to rotate above them.

"Incredible… Simply, incredible…" Seta breathed. He turned to Keitaro. "What does it say?" Keitaro grimaced.

"I… I don't know… I can't read Kryptonian…" Seta grabbed Keitaro by the throat, his face ugly with rage.

"Liar! You're from the same world! You have artifacts of it! How could you not know the writing of your own planet!"

"This… _is_ my planet," Keitaro grunted defiantly. Seta glowered… Before looking over the obelisk's surface. His eyes widened.

"Of course… I should have realized he wouldn't be enough…" Seta grabbed the pendant around Keitaro's neck, breaking it off, before pressing it into a small indention on the surface of the obelisk. It too began to glow, as the symbols high above began to spin faster and faster.

"Yes… Yes…" Seta grinned. The symbols coalesced into a single bright point above their heads, and descended, floating just above the obelisk. Seta reached out a hand to take the glowing orb…_ZAP!_ The archaeologist bellowed in agony as the orb blasted him away, slamming him against the now bare walls of the chamber.

"Daddy!" Sarah cried out, running to him. Naru was left to watch in wonder as the orb finally merged with the obelisk, before it's energy shot out into Keitaro. She shrieked in fear, before noticing that the energy was simply merging with Keitaro, not destroying him. The ronin stood up as the glow vanished, his posture strong and self-assured, his eyes set in determination. He pulled his glasses off and handed them to Naru.

"Hold these for me, please," he said with a small smile. Naru nodded numbly. An instant later, Keitaro was in front of Sarah, who squeaked in fear. She tried to open the metal container containing the kryptonite, but Keitaro snatched it out of her hands. He was then right back next to Naru again, and handed her the box.

"Put the pendant into the same hole," he said simply. Just before Seta's arm surrounded his neck. "Urk!" Seta bodily dragged him off, and the two began to wrestle. Naru watched in shock, before turning to the obelisk again. Slowly, she took the pendant out and pressed it into the obelisk.

Keitaro grabbed Seta's wrists and threw him against the far wall, as the green energy of the kryptonite pendant spread through the lines of the chamber. This time, however, the lines began to crack and splinter apart, the kryptonite's killing energies destroying the ancient technology.

"NOOOOOO!" Seta roared, watching in horror as the chamber collapsed into rubble above them. Both he and Sarah were blasted by energy beams and screamed, collapsing to the ground. An instant later, both were grabbed by Keitaro, as he ran, carrying a stunned Naru back through the tunnel at superspeed.

"Keitaro! We're not gonna make it! The whole mountains' coming down on us!" Naru wailed. Keitaro smirked.

"Yes we will." It was then they began moving even faster than before, and the literal light at the end of the tunnel began to grow, even as the roof came down upon them all. Naru screamed and clutched Keitaro's neck, as they blasted through the final few meters and into the bright sunlight…

Naru blinked awkwardly, the bright light the only thing she could see...

* * *

"… ru? Naru, can you hear me? Naru?" The vague shape of Kitsune's head appeared over her.

"Hey… She's coming around… Hey Naru, babe, you okay?" Kitsune asked, her brow etched in concern. Naru blinked, and slowly tilted her head.

"What… What happened?" Kitsune smiled softly.

"Well, it looks like when Tama dropped you, you hit your head and were out for a few hours in the woods. We found you and brought you back here." Naru blinked owlishly.

"What… What do you mean? I… Where's Keitaro? And… And Seta?" Kitsune shook her head with a frown.

"Seta's in the hospital, Naru. Got into a car wreck. And Keitaro's been working all afternoon."

"But… But I saw them! They were…" Naru looked down at clothes she'd expected to be covered in dust from a cavein, but only slightly marred by some dirt from the forest. She gawked at it. She turned her head to the sound of someone entering the room.

"Hey Naru… Got you some soup," Keitaro said with a small smile. Naru blinked at him, her mouth gaping.

"But-But I saw you! Keitaro, you're an alien! I saw you! I saw the chamber! And the writing and the glowing energy and-" Keitaro blinked at her, confused.

"Uh, sure Naru… Whatever you say," he replied nervously. Naru got up, stalked over to him, and glared into his eyes. Keitaro cowered.

"I didn't mean to say you were crazy! Honest! I mean, I didn't _mean_ to _imply_ it! Really!" Naru glared at him for a few more moments, before sighing in relief and disgust.

"Yeah… Like _you_ could ever be an alien, pathetic pervert," she grumbled, walking over to her futon and sitting down. "Give me the soup and get out!"

"Er, right Naru," Keitaro said sheepishly, doing as she said. Naru shook her head, glaring down into her soup. Kitsune raised an eyebrow.

"What was _that_ all about?"

"… Nothing…" Naru frowned heavily. "Nothing at all…"

* * *

"Looks like Naru-Naru bought the story, yes?" Suu giggled, walking on her hands and grinning up at Keitaro. Shinobu, nearby, sat on the patio railing, watching the sunset.

"Looks like," Keitaro sighed. "Seta was the only one who knew where the chamber was. He dug it himself. No one will believe them… If they ever remember what happened."

"What do you mean, sempai?" Shinobu asked. Keitaro smiled slightly.

"The data that the device downloaded into me? Was meant for Kryptonians… And Kryptonians only. Anyone else trying it will suffer intense memory loss within a few minutes of trying to process it."

"What does he remember?" Shinobu murmured. Keitaro shrugged.

"Nothing of today. The 'car accident' will make it look like he suffered some mild brain damage. Sarah, too, won't remember anything about that day."

"And without the kryptonite pendant, it's safe to go work for him again, right?" Shinobu asked. Keitaro shrugged.

"I'm not sure, Shinobu-chan… But, I can't exactly get another job around here, can I?" The Kryptonian man looked down at the hardwood patio below him. Shinobu smiled comfortingly, and took his hand.

"Don't worry, Urashima-sempai… You will be fine…" She frowned slightly.

"What was in those walls, anyway?" Keitaro smiled.

"The complete history, writings, and knowledge of Krypton… It's all right up here." He tapped the side of his temple. He shrugged. "I know all of the customs, religions, legends… All of it, from my home planet. But… It doesn't really matter much anymore."

"Why not?" Shinobu asked, perplexed. Keitaro smiled sadly.

"Because… Krypton is gone. And while I may have been born there, I was raised on Earth. Earth… Is my home, Shinobu. And it always will be. It's nice to have the memories of Krypton… But Earth will always be first in my heart."

TBC…

I decided to go for a more "Smallville" feel to the story, and hold off on Keitaro donning the blue and red for now.

Next time: The Hinata Summer Tea House is open for business! But why is Keitaro acting so strangely? And what's with the red ring he found?


	5. Chapter 5

Beware a ticked-off Kryptonian.

"Hey pal, you gonna buy something or what?" Keitaro looked up from the cheap, mostly seashell-based jewelry laid out under the tarp. The proprietor of the shack glared at him.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," he muttered, his eyes roaming the jewelry again. In truth, he'd been looking for a present for his aunt Haruka. During the summer months, Haruka would open up the beachside tea house and serve beachgoers ramen, hot dogs, and (of course) iced tea. To Keitaro however, on this trip, she seemed to be more, well… "Haruka-ish" than usual. More prone to slapping him, even when he didn't call her his aunt, and much colder and withdrawn.

Maybe something to do with Seta showing up? Keitaro mused. In any event, he was determined to find her a good gift. To try and cheer her up. His eyes locked onto a bracelet of small, red stones, and he picked it up.

He gasped slightly at a rush of heat to his head. It seemed to fill his skull with a pleasant warmth. He felt himself begin to smile.

"Hey, kid, you gonna buy that or what?" Asked the shack owner. Keitaro turned and smirked.

"It's the only thing you've got that isn't total trash," the ronin replied smoothly. "Where did you find this stuff, a dumpster?"

The owner's face turned red in anger. Keitaro grinned devilishly at him, before slipping the bracelet on and shoving it underneath his short sleeves to conceal it.

"I'm not paying squat."

"Yes you are! You miserable punk!" The owner reached across the table and tried to grab Keitaro's neck, but the younger man grabbed his wrist and shoved him back.

With a _crash!_ the owner smashed through wooden cases of assorted sea shells. He groaned in pain as Keitaro casually strode away.

* * *

"Hey idiot! Where have you been?" Naru demanded as the familiar form of Hinata's manager rounded the corner. She stalked up to him, ready to whop him right back where he came. Keitaro merely smirked.

"None of your business, cockroach," the ronin cooly replied, walking past her. Naru blinked awkwardly, before her face turned scarlet, her eyes narrowed in fury.

"YOU SON OF A-!"

Keitaro caught Naru's punch as though he wasn't trying. The redhead gaped at him, as he turned around and began to squeeze her knuckles together. White-hot pain burned in her hand, making her gasp in shock. _When did he get so strong?_

"Listen, you stuckup whore," Keitaro whispered angrily. "I'm the manager. I say who stays and who goes. So unless you want me to throw you out on the street without a penny to your name, shut the _fuck_ up and do as you're told. Got it?" Naru clenched her teeth and fought back tears. Keitaro's grip tightened a little more, making Naru's bones pop painfully. She whimpered, the tears finally rolling down her cheeks.

"Why am I even bothering with you?" Keitaro asked, letting Naru go and kicking sand in her face. She cried out, clutching her tightly closed eyes, as the ronin turned and stalked off. Her eyes red and burning, Naru looked up, shivering in shock and disbelief.

Who was that guy?

* * *

Keitaro smirked as he smashed yet _another_ car from the cliff top-parking lot on the surf-worn rocks far below. He giggled like a child as he grabbed yet another and threw it over, watching it fall and finally crunch like an aluminum can.

"Sempai? What are you doing?" Keitaro turned and saw a worried-looking Shinobu standing before him. He smiled pleasantly at her.

"Just having some fun…" Shinobu walked over to Keitaro's side, and peered over the edge of the cliff. She gasped.

"Sempai! What have you done! Those aren't yours! And the people who find them will-"

"Will think that the cliff gave way," Keitaro shrugged. Shinobu gaped at him.

"Wha… Why would they-Auuuuuuu!" Keitaro stomped as hard as he could, making the cliff crumble and shake under their feet. He took the screaming Shinobu into his arms and ran at full speed out of the parking lot, before the entire cliff (and the parked cars) collapsed into the angry surf below. Shinobu shivered violently in his arms, clutching him for dear life, as Keitaro grinned over his handiwork. Dozens of people were running towards the disaster, shouting and screaming. The ronin shrugged. It was their problem now…

He sped off, appearing right next to the Hinata Beach Tea House. Haruka looked up from a table she was scrubbing, a deeper frown than usual on her face.

"Keitaro… Where have you been? And what did you do to Naru? The girl's a nervous wreck." Keitaro smirked and set the frightened Shinobu down, before walking right up to Haruka and kissing her deeply. His aunt's eyebrows nearly shot up off her forehead, as he pulled away and grinned at her.

"Happy birthday, Haruka-chan," he purred. "I got you the only thing on this beach worth my time." He slid the bracelet off and handed it to her. The moment her shakig hands took it from Keitaro, he blinked and looked about.

"Uh… Shinobu?" The paler-than-usual girl stuttered.

"Y-Yes, Sempai?"

"What… Happened?"

* * *

Keitaro's face was buried in his hands, as Suu studied Haruka's necklace underneath her multi-purpose scanner she'd brought along for fun. The foreign blonde looked up from the screen and smiled cheerfully.

"This is kryptonite! No doubt about it!" Shinobu, also in the shade far away from the tea house, frowned.

"Red? But, isn't kryptonite green?" Keitaro groaned again. Suu shook her head.

"This is a different variety! A different form of kryptonite! Like coal and diamond! Look different, but made of same things." Suu frowned thoughtfully.

"This kryptonite seem to mess with your head, rather than body. Stimulates production of adrenaline and a few other hormones in your body. Makes you… Amoral, maybe a little-"

"Psychotic?" Keitaro asked glumly. Shinobu patted his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

"It wasn't your fault, Urashima-Sempai…"

"No, but I… I hurt Naru. Haruka's, well… And none of the other girls will ever trust me again," Keitaro sighed. "And I can't exactly tell them that a little bracelet made out of red meteor rocks made me do it, can I?" Suu rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Shinobu opened her mouth, then thought better of it. Suu snapped her fingers and grinned.

"Suu has got it!"

* * *

"MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Pitiful monkey man! You'll never defeat the forces of darkness!" Keitaro cackled atop the hill of plaster in the ancient arena. The audience of children gasped and clapped as brave Goku and his companions the Pig and Turtle, attempted to rescue the Guardian, who now lay in a tasty white bikini and with a collar at her neck.

Naru really did make a good slave girl, Keitaro reflected. She still glanced up nervously at Keitaro from time to time, but the story that he'd only been getting into character seemed to be holding.

"You'll never defeat me, Dark King! I never give up!" Seta challenged from below, his grin still evident underneath the face paint. At his sides were Suu and Motoko, all ready to do battle with Keitaro (who was alone, save for Kitsune).

"Oh Keitarooo…"

Speaking of which… "Yes, Kitsune?" The foxy blonde draped herself around his shoulders and purred.

"I must say, you make a _very_ sexy Demon Lord," she murmured seductively. The children in the audience started giggling and blushing at the spectacle. Keitaro coughed nervously.

"Er, yeah… Thank you… Excuse me…" Keitaro took a deep breath, and focused. Suu assured Keitaro that she could convince everyone that his use of his powers would be passed off as simple special effects. Naru fumed at Kitsune's actions, but said nothing as Keitaro stepped away from her embrace and put on his evil smirk.

"Allright Goku, prepare to die!" Keitaro leapt from the top of the fake-stone steps and landed, unharmed, at the base of the hill. The audience cheered as Seta lunged forth with his wooden staff. Keitaro, decided to put on a good show for the kids, grabbed the staff and swung Seta over his head, pitching him to the other side of the arena. Motoko lashed out with one of her more potent wind-based attacks, and he easily dodged, before grabbing her by the shoulders and throwing her into the same corner as Seta. Suu launched herself at his head, but he simply ducked and she crashed into the dirt, her eyes swirls.

"Ha ha ha! Your resistance is futile!" Keitaro cackled, standing imperiously. The kids couldn't help but cheer and laugh. The amazing "special effects" that Keitaro had employed easily made up for the fact that he was the bad guy.

Seta lanced out, easily moving five times faster than a normal human was supposed to. Fortunately, Keitaro wasn't human.

Oh yeah… Not even close, he thought cheekily, dodging with barely any effort. Motoko screamed "DIE URASHIMA!" and lashed out with her brightly-colored stage spear. Keitaro simply dodged it while simultaneously nudging Seta's strike into the samurai girl. When he slowed down to normal velocity, the two crashed into each other violently. Both groaned and shakily got up to their feet.

"Well, part timer… You're a _lot_ better than I thought," the archaeologist grinned, blood trailing down from the top of his head. Keitaro shrugged nervously.

"Suu's doing it all. I'm just the puppet," he muttered back, dodging another blow by the now fuming Motoko.

"She's very good when it comes to special effects," Seta noted, working with Motoko to try and catch Keitaro between their weapons. Considering that Keitaro's reaction times were shorter than the pause between a gnat's wing beats, unless Seta was holding back he was never going to hit the ronin. And neither was Motoko.

"I must talk to Suu about giving you such technology," Motoko snarled as Keitaro performed a perfect backflip over her deadly thrust. "A pervert like you should not have such power."

"Yeah. I could blast innocent people through a wall for a simple accident," Keitaro stuck out his tongue at her, making her scream something in an ancient dialect of Nipponese he couldn't figure out.

"No, I don't think his mother would be into that sort of thing," Seta grinned and winked at Keitaro. The ronin smiled weakly, but was still able to avoid yet another blow from the archaeologist.

Crud. Haruka's making the "kill it" signal. Better end this fast. Keitaro made to land a punch in Seta's face, before deliberately tripping and falling into Seta's blow. He then threw his head and shoulder back, and backflipped, throwing himself into the base of the fake mountain. It shuddered and rumbled, even as Keitaro weakly flopped out of the hole he'd made.

Wait… I'm not doing that! The ancient arena pillars were collapsing, and Naru and Kitsune were screaming as one fell towards them. Keitaro switched to superspeed, running up to the top of the fake mountain, grabbing the two of them, running back down and placing them out of harm's way, before he ran back to where he was lying before. Too late he realized that the instant the pillar crashed into the mountain, the debris would fall and bury him. He groaned at his stupidity as the plaster and several-ton boulders covered him.

He supposed that the debris covering him would have smashed a human flat. As it was, it felt like he was simply covered in very large, hard pillows. It would be so easy to just smash his way through…

Unfortunately, that would raise a lot of questions he'd rather not answer.

Damn damn damn… _I am so dead…_Keitaro grimaced, before mentally snapping his fingers. He narrowed his eyes and switched to X-ray vision. The world before him turned into a mixture of glowing blue outlines. He picked out a couple of human-shaped skeletons digging at the rubble in front of him.

Keitaro grimaced, before mentally snapping his fingers. He narrowed his eyes and switched to X-ray vision. The world before him turned into a mixture of glowing blue outlines. He picked out a couple of human-shaped skeletons digging at the rubble in front of him. 

Carefully, he wriggled back through the rocks covering him, careful not to shift them too much. He finally found an empty space between the steel girders that had made up the fake mountain, and the real collapsed boulders. He pushed himself up, found a crack, and pushed it up a little-Just enough to let in light from the full moon overhead.

"Hey! Hey! Help! Help!" Keitaro shouted. It was mere moments later that a Mecha Tama's steel claws reached into the parting between the boulders and lifted it wider. A paile face with blue hair and a bronze face with blonde hair flanked the sides of the giant mecha.

"Keitaro! You're allright!"

"Sempai! Thank goodness!" Keitaro grinned a bit self-deprecatingly, as an angry Naru stuck her head in next.

"Stupid idiot! Don't scare us like that again!"

"What, you were worried about me, Naru?" Keitaro asked with a wry smile. Naru blushed furiously.

"Hell no, stupid baka! Seta! C'mon! We've got to check on the kids…" She trailed off as she headed away. Suu shrugged.

"Naru-Naru seems to like you." Keitaro smirked.

"I don't like her."

"Poor Narusegawa-sempai," Shinobu sighed. She then shrugged as well.

"Too bad for her."

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

**So sue me, I want this finished. Oh well.**

"Suu… Isn't this a little… I dunno… Tight?" Keitaro asked, tugging at the royal blue shirt and pants he now wore, his glasses-less eyes narrowed in worry. And indeed, the material was thick enough for proper insulation, but thin enough to showcase the ronin's large, firm muscles. The sides of the suit had red dividers that stretched from under his armpits to the middle of his hips, and the cuffs on the arms of the costume were also red.

He was thankful she'd at least put a pad to conceal his crotch's (ahem) attributes. But it was still pretty embarrassing.

"Don't worry," Suu soothed from behind the computer in her massive, jungle lair. "It supposed to be skin-tight. Otherwise, it get blown up in battle! Anything you touch through direct skin contact is protected by your super-aura!" Keitaro nodded thoughtfully. He stiffened and blushed, just before Shinobu entered the room, quickly closing the door behind her.

"I finished sewing," she said with a smile, and held up a long red cloak in one hand. In the other, she held a pair of swashbuckler-style red boots. Blushing slightly, she handed them to Keitaro, who mumbled a slightly embarrassed thanks as he pulled the garments on. Suu got up from the back of her computer and handed Keitaro a bright yellow belt, which he pulled on.

"I almost feel naked without the belt," he noted with a red face, that the two girls shared with him. Suu snapped her fingers and grinned.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Silly Suu!" She ran to a tree, opened the trunk, and pulled out a large device that looked like a heavily-modified camera. She walked up to Keitaro and held the device's muzzle up to his chest. Keitaro looked worried.

"Relax, Keitaro! Is harmless!" With that, Suu pulled the trigger. A bright yellow and red light blinded the two girls, but not Keitaro. Even before it had faded, he was staring at the strange symbol now on his chest. Suu grinned.

"You say symbol means your family. Why not wear it?"

"Well… It was something they wore into battle," Keitaro mused, looking at the red and yellow S-shield on his chest thoughtfully. He then smiled at her.

"Thank you, Suu!" Suu grinned back.

"No problem! But, I must do the back, too!" Suu moved and fired the device again, and now on the back of Keitaro's cape was an all-yellow S-shield. She giggled as Shinobu smiled, starry-eyed.

"You… You look wonderful, Keitaro-sempai," she gasped. Keitaro blushed a little, and smiled.

"Thanks… Now, for my hair." Keitaro quickly ran his hands through his brown locks, arranging them in a complex manner. The most prominent aspect was the single curved "cowlick" that resembled a blade, curving up and back from his forehead. The "speed spike" arrangement of the other locks made his hair resemble a bird's feathers. He smiled as the two younger girls nodded approvingly.

"If you change the tone of your voice a little… And stoop down as Keitaro… No one will be able to tell the two of you apart!" Keitaro smiled and nodded.

"So, in this guise… No one will ever suspect that Keitaro Urashima could ever be… Uh…" He blinked and shrugged. "What should I call my alter-ego?"

"You can figure that out later, Sempai," Shinobu smiled, as Suu began giggling in the background and praising her genius. "For now though… You'll just be a guardian angel for whoever needs you." Keitaro nodded and smiled.

"I like that…" Shinobu gestured to the roof opening.

"Well… Go try it out, won't you?" She pressed. Keitaro smiled hugely, as he held his hands up, like a swimming champion on the diving board. Slowly at first, but gaining speed, he ascended, and flew up through the window and into the clear blue sky.

Down below, Shinobu blushed and smiled impishly.

"Damn that suit makes his butt look good…"

**The journey is only beginning…**


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

Keitaro hovered high above Tokyo, extending his senses as far as he could. His eyes were closed as he sorted through the multitude of sounds vibrating through the air.

"-_DIE RANMA-!"_

"_-Moon Prism Power-!"_

"_-I WILL be a great teacher damnit-!"_

"_-Urahara I'm going to kill you-!"_

"_-Mayday, mayday, Tokyo Flight 334! Inflight emergency-!"_

Keitaro opened his eyes and followed the sound of the frantic pilot's radio call, soon hearing other sounds as he did. Screaming people, flames burning, a jet engine turbine…

_There!_ He thought, spotting the plane only a few miles away. One of it's engines had burst into flame. Keitaro accelerated past the speed of sound, easily catching up to the airliner as it continued it's dangerous descent. With a grunt he grabbed the tail, tugging back and trying to slow it down.

_SCREEECH-CRASCK!_

"WOAH!" Keitaro yelped, falling back as the plane's tail came off. Keitaro hovered in mid-air, feeling incredibly stupid as the airliner began to spin without its primary stabilizer. He smacked his forehead before tossing the tail aside and speeding after the plane.

"Great going, Kei," he muttered to himself, diving under the plane and taking a wide grip on the fuselage. Gently, he rotated the plane and kept it oriented correctly. He looked over his shoulder, gritting his teeth.

_Okay, at the rate we're falling… We can't make it to the runway at that airport in time. Damn… There's gotta be... AH HA!_

Keitaro moved up to the nose of the plane, taking a firm grip and pulling the plane forward. He grunted, straining to apply enough force to accelerate the airliner but not so much that he'd rip it apart.

"Right… Just… A little… _Faster!"_ Keitaro growled. He grinned as the airliner began to pull up, his addition to it's thrust increasing it's lift.

"YES! Okay…! Now I only have to…" Keitaro groaned as the runaway came into sight. Another plane was lifting off from the same direction!

"Damn, damn, damn, damn!" He muttered, increasing the plane's speed but pulling it down.

"This… Will be close," Keitaro decided. He winced as the incoming plane roared bare meters above Flight 334. He blinked… And grinned.

"Hey! Ripping off the tail was actually a _smart_ thing to do!" Keitaro shook his head at his incredible luck. The runway came into view for normal humans, and Keitaro gradually began to slow the aircraft down, tipping it's nose up.

The plane roared for the tarmac, Keitaro noting that it's landing gear wasn't coming down. He grunted in extertion as his feet hit the pavement ahead of the aircraft's nose, and he dug his feet in, tearing through the concrete as he focused every bit of his strength and control to softening the airliner's landing.

_KFOOM!_ The fuselage made contact with the runway and began screeching at the friction, Keitaro suddenly finding the weight of the plane forcing him deeper and deeper into the ground like a plow. Still he held on, still he struggled, and the airliner began to slow down, bit by bit…

The rescue vehicle's occupants could only stare in amazement as Tokyo Airlines Flight 334 came to a gentle stop, it's left engine still on fire, it's tail ripped clean off… But otherwise intact. The rubble and debris under it's nose seemed to cushion it. The ambulances and fire trucks moved forward to assist the passengers now leaving via slides and ladders.

The rubble stirred, and a moment later Keitaro pushed his way out. Wiping his brow, he took a deep breath and looked the plane over, ignoring the shouts and stares of the people surrounding him. His X-ray vision revealed no casualties. With a smile, and wave to the shocked flight crew, he took off into the clear blue sky.

"Well, at least the costume's all right," Keitaro decided as he flew high over Tokyo proper. He shook his head.

"I don't want Suu and Shinobu to have to fix it right after my first day on the job," he chuckled, and began to scan for more trouble.

Shino Amara laughed in perverse glee as he exchanged fire with the police outside the bank. His buddies were just finishing up grabbing the loot, and he was to cover their escape. He enjoyed this part of their jobs immensely, the sadist in him reveling gunning down cops with his M-16 assault rifle.

He didn't know how their boss had gotten so much raw firepower, and frankly he didn't care. He was unstoppable! The pigs were scrambling for their lives, bullets whizzing around them, sure to find a mark and-!

_CRUNCH!_ Shino saw a large, strong hand on the barrel of his rifle. The hand had smooshed the gun's muzzle shut, jamming the rifle. He followed the blue-clad arm attached to the hand, up to a broad shoulder partially covered by a red cape flapping in the breeze. Finally, Shino's eyes met those of the man who was standing there. Brown, large, and narrowed in determination.

"I suggest you give up," the man said in a strong, commanding tone. Shino let go of his M-16 and pulled his sidearm, bringing it right up to the guy's chest. He didn't know who or _what_ this guy was, but he'd pay for interfering!

_BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!_ _CLICK! CLICK!_

Shino gulped, as the man smirked. Every bullet had hit, all right… But they'd slammed into the red and yellow 'S' symbol on his chest and dropped, as though hitting steel armor plating.

"Guess I'll have to be more convincing," the man stated, and pushed Shino back with a simple flat palm to the chest. It felt to Shino more like a truck had shoved him, and he hit the ground with a _thud!_

Shakily Shino looked up as the man stood above him, proud, fists held against his hips as the wind made his cape wave like a flag.

"Wha-What the _hell?"_ He muttered. He heard the bank doors slam open behind him, and saw the guy look up. More shots were fired, obviously from Shino's buddies. Bullets fell after impacting the guy's chest, dropping onto Shino's shirt.

Keitaro kicked in his super speed, grabbing the guns out of both masked men's hands and crushing them in his fists. They gaped in horror. Keitaro slapped them both upside the head, knocking them out. He checked and made sure there were no other burglars, before walking into the bank itself with a friendly smile to the shocked customers.

"Everyone okay?"

"Who the heck are you?" An attractive girl in a schoolgirl's outfit demanded, up from the floor before any of the other former hostages. Her red hair was done up in a high spiky ponytail. Keitaro smiled kindly at her.

"I'm, uh…"

"Wait, wait, let me guess… Superman?" She asked incredulously. Keitaro grinned, glad for his family's symbol's resemblance to the letter 'S'.

"Yep."

"And you're… What? A superhero?" She asked. Keitaro rubbed the back of his head.

"Sheesh, what's with all the questions? Are you with the Spanish inquisition or something?"

"Nobody expects them," she grinned with a wink. "Me, I'm Kazumi Asakura, I'm with the Daily Planet!"

"You're a reporter?" Keitaro asked, feeling a little nervous. His anxiety level went up as she took his arm and began to lead him out of the bank.

"Well, I'm technically an intern, but if you'd give me a minute of your time…?" She blinked, and Keitaro groaned. The press was swarming past the police barricades towards them. Kazumi sighed and shook her head.

"Don't suppose you can fly us out of here?" She said with a wink and grin. Keitaro smirked back and took her in his arms. Asakura gasped as they ascended away from the reporters, cameramen, and police. She wrapped her arms around his neck, making Keitaro blush.

"Well, aren't _you_ full of surprises?" Kazumi grinned. Keitaro shrugged with a smile.

"I'm kind of new at this whole superhero thing," he admitted. Kazumi moved her face closer to Keitaro's with a cat-like expression.

"Oh _really_? Care to tell me more?" She purred.

* * *

Keitaro carried Kazumi to a mountain lookout, gently setting her down on the dirt-covered ground. With a gasp of awe she looked out over the vast city below, spinning around and leaning against the guardrail. She grinned flirtatiously.

"So, tell me about yourself. I mean, you aren't exactly from around here are you?"

Keitaro's face darkened a bit, and he crossed his arms over his chest. He looked away from Kazumi, up into the sky. The redhead frowned, tilting her head quizzically.

"Well… As far as I know, I'm the only survivor of a planet called Krypton."

"… So… You're an alien then?" Kazumi asked with a frown. She got up and circled him, scrutinizing Keitaro so intently he almost felt like fidgeting.

"… You don't have any tentacles that _I_ can see… Not that that would be a problem," she muttered thoughtfully. Keitaro blushed, but managed to compose himself and cleared his throat. Kazumi looked up and smiled innocently, pulling out a notepad and pen and making some notes.

"Okay, go on…"

And so Keitaro told her. About the history of Krypton (an abbreviated version), what he knew about his parents (omitting the parts where Jor-El wanted him to conquer), and some vague references to his life on Earth. Kazumi wrote down notes, occasionally asking questions and directing the rhythm of Keitaro's statements but mostly letting him speak his part.

Leaning against the guardrail, she studied him intently, chewing on her pen.

"Just a few more questions. I guess, the biggest one is… Why be a hero?"

Keitaro blinked.

"Huh?"

Asakura shrugged.

"From what you've told me, you're probably stronger than anyone else on this planet. Easily capable of taking over, ruling over us humans with your powers. So… Why don't you?" She asked calmly. Keitaro shrugged, looking thoughtful.

"To be honest… I've never actually considered using my powers to rule, or for personal gain," he explained. He scratched his head, carefully formulating his answer.

"My parents… My adoptive parents… Told me that my powers were some of my gifts… But they weren't the only ones. They always told me that I could be perfectly normal, and live a normal life, and they'd still love me." A smile came on his face that was both filled with pride and genuine resolution, a sight that captivated the young reporter.

"I can do a lot with my powers… But I can't get love with them. I can't make people love me, care about me for me. And really, even if I did take over the world, what would I gain? I don't want fame, I don't want fortune…"

"Then what do you want?" Kazumi asked quietly. Keitaro smiled.

"To follow my parent's example… Both sets. My birth parents could have saved themselves, but instead they sent me to Earth as their world died around them. My father used his gifts to get me here. My Earth parents loved me and accepted me for who I was. They didn't try to turn me into an experiment or get rich off me. They are genuinely good people, and always try to put others first, to help make others happy."

Keitaro turned directly at Kazumi, and she felt her cheeks warm at the openness, the honesty of his smile.

"I owe Earth my life, my friends and family. And I owe Krypton to do credit to its memory, to live up to my father and mother's expectations. So yeah, that's why I don my costume, and use my powers like I do."

Kazumi furiously wrote this down, before taking a deep breath. There was one last question on her mind.

"So… With that in mind… Just who are you without the costume, anyway?"

Keitaro's smile became a bit sad and slightly strained, and Asakura fought the urge to flinch.

"Sorry, can't tell you… And could you not mention anything related to that?" He asked quietly. Kazumi nodded.

"Sure… I mean… I guess you don't want a billion reporters banging down your door, huh?" She surmised. Keitaro nodded, his smile becoming warm once more.

"So," she said, getting to her feet and walking over to Keitaro. "Care to give me a lift to the office?"

"Sure," Keitaro replied, taking her in his arms and taking off. The sun was beginning to set, but Keitaro's super senses and the city lights guided them to the right building. Keitaro set Kazumi down on the roof, and he turned to go.

"Wait!" She called. Keitaro turned around, aware that everyone in the Daily Planet building was looking at him through the windows.

"Yes?" He replied.

"How do I contact you again? You know, for a follow-up?" Kazumi called out. Keitaro smiled.

"Don't worry… I'll be around," he promised, as he flew off into the night.

At another building in the city, a blond-haired man watch the human figure fly off into the sunset. He smirked and shook his head.

"Always did have a way of exploding into people's lives, Keitaro," Kentaro chuckled, turning back to his desk to resume his paperwork. Even so, a plan was forming in his mind. One that would definitely kill two birds with one stone.

Make Keitaro… Or Superman as some of the talking heads on the news had begun calling him… Into a household name. And assure Kentaro's dominance in Japanese business and politics.

The perfect plan…

* * *

_**DUN DUN DUN!**_

**Yes, Kazumi is from another of Ken Akamatsu's works, **_**Mahou Sensei Negima!**_** Why is she away from the Mahora Academy? It is summer (no school), and she's gotten an internship doing something she loves. Though with her exclusive with Superman, I do believe she'll be getting a promotion.**

**As to whether or not she'll be a romantic interest? Maybe, maybe not…**

**Why the Daily Planet? Tradition. That, and no other Japanese newspaper name really leapt out at me. If you'd prefer, I can change the name of the newspaper.**

**Why not make Naru a reporter? Because she's still studying to enter Tokyo University of course. **

**Sorry that none of the Love Hina girls were in this one. They will get more coverage next issue.**

**Next Time****: The ramifications from Keitaro's first day as Superman reach the Hinata Sou, and while Kentaro begins his plan the Ronin of Steel meets a few of the local superheroes… And some of them don't take kindly to newbies.**


End file.
